UPenn has rejected the financial aid; UMich still pending.
Any suggestions in comparing the two?
Thanks a lot!

It seems to me that Michigan is a bit more prestigious school, and obviously better in such fields as legal history, comparative law, legal theory, and possibly international law. Penn is quite good in more commercial subjects, or so I've heard.

Thanks tmalmine:)
But isn't UPenn a member of the Ivy League? Actually I thought Penn Law seems more prestigious and ranked a bit higher on the USNews (although just 1 place ahead). Meanwhile I do like to pursue my study in a small town like Ann Arbor. That is why I feel hard to make a choice from the two. What if I wish to transfer the LLM into a JD? Thank you.

Being a member of the Ivy League is no longer a decisive factor. Stanford and Chicago have a great reputation even though they are not ivies. It seems to me that Penn and Michigan are ranked so close to each other that it does not really matter. If you would like to live in Ann Arbor, go there. Just make sure they offer courses you would like to take. I might be little biased in favor of Michigan as I have been accepted there myself, but it really seems to me that you cannot distinguish UMich and UPenn in terms of faculty, students etc. so choose the place you want to live in.

Bear in mind that UMich program is not within the narrow, elite ranking of Best US LL.M. Programs as extensively researched by the American Universities Admission Program (AUAP). I recommend you ponder it a little bit harder before making a rash, final decision that you may very well regret in the future.

I have also been admitted to both schools and, frankly, I couldnt make up my mind. As I have been admitted to the University of Chicago, I will decline both offers. Nevertheless, if I had to make a choice, I would probably choose UPenn, since their courses match more closely my interests.

One warning, though: AUAP is not a respected institution and it didnt do extensive research to draw up its LLM rankings, as posted above. In fact, an institution that says it guarantees your admittance cannot be taken seriously. With all due respect, no one (no one sane, that is) can affirm that Cardozo Law School (Yeshiva) and Fordham have better LLM programs that Michigan and Yale. Just search "AUAP" in this forum and you will see that this is not an opinion of my own.

That's a clumsy argument to gauge a program merely because of general rankings as it loses sight of many specificities. It's utterly incorrect to judge a Program on the basis of the Law School sponsoring it. The degree of excellence of the program should be assessed on account of how much successful it is in living up to the expectations and aspirations of the LL:Ms, how well integrated LL.M.s are, how much attention they're given, to what extent they're looked after by both Faculty Professors and Administrators, is the program cut-throat or laid-back? Are the Professors well-equipped in areas relevant to each particular student's agenda, for example, IP Law or International Trade Law? All these criterias make up a satisfying LL.M. which is conducive to fun, effective learning and a promising career that pays off after graduation. It is fitting at this moment to recall that GWU is ranked 20 as a Law School; nevertheless, its IP Law Program has remained unyieldingly on the #3 spot for many years, ruling supremely over such extremely-respected law schools as Yale, Harvard, Columbia, NYU, Penn... There is a host of factors that should be weighed prior to arriving at a decision that will determine your furture life-path.

Thanks for your kind advice Roberto27,

You're welcome!!!

Maybe but the AUAP rankings are a scam : they only put on top the universities they actually manage to get students into and push down universities where they were not successful. The purpose of the ranking is only to make their customers believe "yeah, I've been accepted at the best university"

So you mean that top-notch law schools like Columbia and Cornell, which tie at the #1 spot in the AUAP Scientific Rankings, are tractable Law Schools prone to being bribed into granting entrance upon undeserving, untalented students? Gimme a break!!

No, you give us a break !! AUAP is total quackery. "Scientific rankings" ? Pffff, they don't even spell the names correctly : "Gorgetown Universtity" ?

I don't want to spend more time on this so take a look here : http://www.xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=215822&mc=6&forum_id=2

Fellows, Michaeeel is right indeed, AUAP is a laughable and a cynical attempt to missguide foreign law students.

USNews is the authorative ranking in the American legal profession. It places the following law schools like this:

Vanderbilt 17 (auap 9)

Fordham 27 (auap 6)

Tulane 41 (auap 7)

American U 47 (auap 13)

Cardozo 58 (auap 10)

Pennsylvania state 90 (auap 14)

LSU 90 (auap 15)


Compare and contrast..

Michael, don't take it out on AUAP if you have not got through Columbia, Cornell or any of the Law Schools within their list, or because the law schools that did recognize you are disregarded or underrated by auap. Face the fact that, in keeping with AUAP, yours are not within the few deemed LL.M. worthy.

Chill out,

Columbia is ranked 4th and Cornell 11th in the USNews rankings. Ask any Columbia jd student if he/she thinks that Cornell is Columbias peer institution, also ask any Columbia jd student if he/she thinks that Columbia is better than any of the holy trinity of Yale, Harvard, Stanford. You will get to negative answers darling..

it's much easier to get into Cornell than Yale, Harvard or Stanford (not to mention that Cornell does not have the same prestige, number of applicants, peer rating, work opportunities after the degree, etc.), so if you think otherwise on the sole basis of this AUAP ranking, then there is something wrong.

And yes, I have been admitted at Cornell so I guess I am "within the few deemed to be LLM worthy". However I doubt this means I am more worthy than someone who has been admitted at Yale for instance, just because Cornell is number 1 in AUAP's ranking whereas Yale is number 12.

Honestly speaking, i don't quite know if the AUAP rankings are absolutely trustworthy. The problem is that there's no other study gauging the quality of the LL.M. Program for International Students. The US News Report rankings, in addition to using questionable metholodgy, only rate the JD Programs and Not the LL.Ms. Therfore, we haven't yet run into another compass International Students can resort to in order to estimate the convenience of a Law School LL.M. Program over another. In view of these scanty resources, we only have at our disposal the aforementioned ranking.

Auap ranking is a colossal joke man,

Why do we llm´s need our own rankings?

We attend the same law school, it's courses, recieve the same teaching and supervision, use the same facilities as the JD students. We rely on the same prestige of the institution as well. The only difference is the degree.

Why?

As a matter of fact, I'm admitted to Cornell (ranked 1st on AUAP) but I have the honesty to say that, even though it's a top program, it's not as prestigious as Harvard (ranked 5th on AUAP) or Yale (ranked 12th).

AUAP ranking is total quackery. The US News ranking is the ultimate reference for recruiters, period.